Yuri, the Lone Wanderer
by Cloud Strife is awesome
Summary: Yuri, the Lone Wanderer's life changed drastically once his father unexpectedly left the Vault. Survival's tough out there, can he blend in to the Wasteland society? Can he learn to be like them? Or will the innocence of growing up in the Vault be his end? Please send me reviews. This is my first time writing, and criticism is always welcome.
1. Distant Vault memories

Chapter 1: Distant Vault Memories

The first assignment

Yuri woke up in his quarters like he did every day staring at that grey-blue ceiling, illuminated solely with fluorescent light. Rolling out of bed, he crawled into that ugly blue jumpsuit, zipping it right up so he could start the day. It was the day after his 10th birthday party; the previous day, his father James and his friend Amata threw him a nice birthday party. Regrettably, the party was damn near ruined on sight when the overseer showed up just to tell Yuri that his first job responsibilities were the next day. Which is precisely why he is to wake at this hour, 6 in the morning. Not that the time really mattered, the lights never did turn off, did they?

He took a quick stop in the men's restroom to get his day started. The reality of being 10 started to hit him, he's only a child, same as a lot of the other kids his age, but he's already got his first job responsibility. Looking in the mirror, he was often reminded that he looks much like his dad, but sometimes he often tried to search for any and all features that he had, but his father didn't. This is the closest he could ever get to finding out what his mother looked like. The straight, red hair didn't look too much like his father's, the blue eyes weren't shared either. Hell, he was beginning to wonder how he resembled his father at all, but that's what people always told him. Thinking back, he remembered how upset Butch was when he got his first job assignment, the Overseer has a distaste for Butch considering he regularly bullies his daughter, Amata.

"What are you looking at, loser?"

A familiar high pitched voice cut into his train of thought. Butch was standing in the doorway, probably thinking about how he's going to fuck up Yuri's day. "Leave me alone, Butch…" The small redheaded child tried to maintain eye contact, his father always tried to tell him to act like a man when talking to others.

"What are you gonna do? Cry?" Another voice rang out, there came Wally, walking in; and of course, Paul Hannon in tow.

"I know I'm not burning trash like you, Butch." Yuri muttered back. Ahh Butch, the Vault delinquent. "You are so lucky I don't have my switchblade, I was gonna make you pay for what you did to my sweetroll." Butch loved to talk tough, not much place to run if you commit murder down here. Yuri felt tempted to inform the Vault bully that his switchblade is dismantled, and the spring is in the BB gun. Before he could really entertain the thought, another voice interrupted them.

"Ahem!" Officer Gomez had come just in time, his foreboding height over the children was enough to make the bullies lower their heads in shame and walk off. "The Overseer told me to grab you, you're late for work." Gomez is in fact, the nicest guard in the entire Vault. He cares about the children; knows when to be strict and when to be soft. Yesterday, he had prevented Butch from walloping on Yuri after spitting on his own sweetroll. 'Brat, he's been nothing but trouble since the day he was born' Was something Gomez would often utter when Butch was the topic of conversation.

Approaching the Overseers office is never a fun task; be you a 10-year-old taking on your first responsibilities, a guard bringing in his daily report, or even the good doctor. The general consensus seemed to be that the Overseer had a stick up his ass. Yuri was still sour about how it seems the Overseer only showed up just to give him a Pip-Boy and tell him to come to work.

"I trust you had a good time yesterday? Well, it isn't your birthday anymore, so why are you slacking around and showing up late?" Asked Overseer Almodovar, in his usual condescending tone.

"Jonas talked about needing an extra hand in the laboratory. I trust you will obey his every word, yes?" As if he needed to order him around in this regard, Yuri had been helping his dad and Jonas since he was a little kid. "Go to Jonas, he'll have your first assignment." Yuri nodded, it seems that no matter what he says, it'll somehow piss off the Overseer anyway.

At least he had the sense of assigning Yuri into an area he had some level of proficiency in. Turning around in a hurry, he quickly ran down to the doctor's office.

"Dad! Jonas!" Yuri called out to them.

"Hush Yuri, Jonas and I are working on something important." James' calm but commanding voice replied.

Yuri, being quick to reply, and frankly too excited to heed his father's orders turned to Jonas "He assigned me to you and dad! I'm going to be your assistant."

Jonas, obviously happy to hear this news, still had to be strict for James' sake. "Good, now can you fetch me some stimpaks? There should be some in the first aid kit in your room." Jonas gave his first order to Yuri, and Yuri's little heart fluttered in joy.

-


	2. Grognak the Barbarian

Chapter 2: Grognak the Barbarian

Yuri's first day of work wasn't so bad, helping his father and Jonas in the Clinic was sort of a joy for him, and was his undocumented occupation to begin with. The day after that wasn't so bad either, and the day after that… and the day after that. It got rather monotonous. Luckily, Saturdays were sort of a free day for everyone; the clinic obviously had to be open 24 hours a day, 7 days a week for emergency purposes, but on the weekends, they didn't do any appointments and would only work should the need arise. Take old Grandma Taylor, for example, she's been having heart problems for some time now.

Yuri had been lying in bed all day, a work full of productivity will have that effect on a child. Working at the clinic was no problem, being _told_ to work however, was physically draining and spiritually demoralizing. "Yuri." His dad's voice called out calmly. "Yes dad?" The young 10-year-old pounced out of his bed onto his feet, causing James to chuckle. "Easy son, nothing's wrong. I just wanted to see how you were doing. Usually you're out with Amata at this time." His father, James, was very observant, of course you need to be when you're a doctor, it's easy to make a mistake if you aren't.

Yuri kicked around his feet for a bit. "I'm alright, Dad." He looked to the ground, a bit of a shy kid when confronted about his habits, be it friendly conversation or not. "I guess you don't want me pent up in my room, eh?"

"That's correct, now get out and talk to your friends." James stepped out of the doorway and left.

Security always had a way of making Yuri feel a little insecure. A good kid, he was. Never broke the rules, well… most of the time anyway. The fact the security all answered to the Overseer, a man who for some reason didn't like him, made him feel vulnerable. Bullies like Butch he didn't mind, because security would handle him; bullies like the overseer however, you can't stop them. Suddenly, the security stops being your friend, and they're now a gang stronger than Butch's little group.

Yuri would always feel insecure coming up to meet Amata, she lived right next to her father's office, which in turn is laden with security. They'd always give him dirty looks. Finally, he reached her quarters and knocked. "Amata? You in there?" The ten year old's voice called out. The door opened up to him, Amata standing there, her jumpsuit zipped up sloppily, no need to dress to impress today. "You wanna play? Or do something? I'm bored." Yuri got to the point.

"Sure. You what do you want to do?" Amata asked, rubbing her eyes, then yawning. She obviously took the opportunity to sleep in, no point in getting up when Mr. Brotch isn't teaching.

"What about that stuff you found a few days ago?" He asked. "Where you found that Gragnok The Barbarian comic."

Amata's eyes lit up with excitement, she seemed to physically restrain herself from talking to loudly about it. "Come with me."

Paul Hannon Sr., the chief of security, was doing his rounds near the office and the quarters. When he walked away from the area, Amata and Yuri sneaked quietly into her father's area. "Look." She whispered, taking out the box from under his bed.

"Your Dad's personal stuff…" He observed. Inside were old papers, some photos of Amata when she was just born, her mother, as well. Amata seemed sad to look at it, So Yuri moved it to the side. Underneath was a dusty 10mm Pistol. "Wow~" Yuri's mouth opened wide. He'd never seen a gun that he could grab before, previously the only one's he saw were always carried by the security guards.

Amata looked nervous, not sure what to do with it. A weapon so deadly often startles a child. "S-should we…" She had obviously not dug deeper in the box after finding that first issue.

"We should leave it alone." Yuri placed the photo back over it. The amount of trouble they'd be in if either of their dads caught them with it would be tremendous. Not to mention, when reading old medical reports from America before the war, apparently many kids would cause accidents with their parents' guns. Which is precisely why James had always been very specific about how to act when finding one: If it isn't yours, don't touch it. Even with the BB gun, James preferred that himself or at least Jonas be with Yuri when he decides to play with it. If he didn't know any better, Yuri would have thought a gun would go off just be looking at it the wrong way.  
To rid the air of the nervousness that came from seeing the gun, He reached towards a corner to pull out what looked like a spine for a comic; when he pulled it out, it was Volume 2. "Sweet!" Yuri exclaimed, even Amata was excited to read up on it a little. But… they were soon interrupted.  
"Ahem." An authoritative and condescending throat clearing was heard, and the children froze.

"Not good." Amata's voice broke the silence that followed her father's alert.

-

"You need to tell your son to stay the hell away from my daughter!" Mr. Almodovar's voice rang through the halls of the Vault, despite that he and James had the privacy of a room to talk, with the door shut at that.

Yuri had felt a deep feeling of guilt for getting Amata in trouble, and his face apparently showed it too. Going through the Overseer's stuff isn't a good thing to be caught doing, especially by the Overseer himself.

"Hey… Yuri." Amata whispered to him, trying to eavesdrop on the rather one-sided conversation between James and her father. "Look." Amata unzipped her jumpsuit ever so slightly and reached down it, pulling out the issue. "Let's go." They went away from the door, her father couldn't catch them reading it if he was too busy yelling at the good doctor now.

 _  
_


	3. Stupid GOAT

Chapter 3: Stupid GOAT

"Well Amata." Mr. Brotch looked up at the proud looking 16 year old girl, she had just finished the GOAT, a 10 question (really 9) test that determines what you do for the rest of your confined life in the Vault. "Looks like the Administrative track for you" Scoffs from the back could be heard, particularly from Butch. "Daddy's girl" could be heard from under his breath.

"What does it say, Mr. Brotch?" Yuri asked with little optimism, handing over the test.  
"It says here you're perfectly suited for a career as a Waste Management Specialist. A specialist, mind you, not just a dabbler. Congratulations!" Mr. Brotch always did have a way with making any job sound exciting, no matter what it is.

"Ugh… The damn test must be broke." Yuri didn't like the sound of working with garbage all day, but at least old Stanley would have less to worry about. Poor bastard did everything. Engineering, maintenance, waste disposal, cremation, etc. In fact, when he was 14 and trying to hide from the Overseer after some questionable activities, he hid in the furnace area. Watching him blow the garbage to hell was a sight to see; although it wasn't such a nice treat for his nose.  
"Look, I was just as obnoxious at your age. I didn't take the GOAT seriously and look where I wound up. Between you and me, this whole test is a joke. So if you don't like your results, I can make your GOAT come out any way you want to."

Yuri's grimace turned into a widened smile, as he was certain he just got an offer that no other kid in the entire Vault would get for a while. This is what happens when you take your chemistry notes, rather than making spitballs like the tunnel snakes, spreading rumors about Christine Kendall's sexual habits on the chalkboard, or referring to Mr. Brotch as 'Brotch the Crotch'. "Thanks man…" He whispered.

"Now hurry up and tell me what you want! A line's starting to come up behind you." Edwin Brotch whispered with an assertive hushed voice, then took out a pen and tried to look like he was still calculating Yuri's score, can't have anyone know he's cheating the system.

"Anything that puts me in work with Dad." He whispered.

"Heh." Jonas looked at all the job openings. "Clinical Test Subject, Yuri. This should be interesting. Well, it looks like you and your dad will be working together." Mr. Brotch confirmed the boy's career from there on out, with a little wink too.

-

Suffice it to say, it was a damn great sight to see Butch Deloria's reaction to his GOAT results. "Hair dressa! I'm a barba! There's a difference!" Yuri playfully yelled at Amata in his imitation of Butch, which sent them both laughing, damn near caused Amata to fall off the little barstool. A typical teenage boy, he was always hungry; Yuri looked forward to having lunch with Amata today, especially since the rest of the day was off. Since they were early on top of that, they had the cafeteria to themselves. Most everyone else were either crying in their rooms, or yelling to their parents about their result.

"Amata." With Mr. Almodovar's voice coming from behind Yuri, clearly over his shoulder, he quickly saw all of his happiness die quicker than human civilization in 2077. "Mr. Brotch tells me you earned yourself a place on the _supervisory track_." Well damn, Alphonse's voice elevated a bit towards the end, one could almost take it for emotion, maybe even pride in his daughter. It had always been very clear that Mr. Alphonse Almodovar loved his daughter dearly.

Down the hall, Butch and his gang could be heard making a ruckus. "Damn Tunnel Snakes..." He muttered, followed by something that sounded like a threat before he stormed off into the hall.

"Want to eat somewhere else?" Yuri asked.

"Sure. My room sound good?" Her response was pretty shocking, considering if The Overseer ever caught him there, he'd be furious.

"Why not?" Yuri got up with his food and water and headed out with her. The Overseer's a bastard anyway, why not piss him off. "Actually. I'll meet you there in 5 minutes, need to finish up one thing."

Amata nodded and went up to the Atrium, while Yuri instead wanted to celebrate. He had just turned 16, tomorrow he'd be put to work again by the Overseer. He wasn't going to let this time be ruined by the Overseer, like he'd done at his 10th birthday. Saving up his rations for a damn long time, he quickly purchased more food, mostly fancy lad cakes, those were in short supply. And using his father's ID… some whiskey. It will be a party tonight.

-

"What took you so long?" Amata sitting at her desk, solving some problems that Mr. Brotch had assigned the day before. "I almost thought you stood me up."

"I got some extra food. Figured that since we both got good jobs, we should have a right to celebrate, yes?" He unzipped his jumpsuit, letting out all the food he bought just tumble out. Food outside of the cafeteria is generally frowned upon by the Overseer and his cronies.

"You're gonna get me radroaches!" She got up and closed the door. "Better not let anyone hear that. Officer Mack would shut this down in a second."

Yuri opened his first Fancy Lad. "Look at you, breaking the rules. Certainly a good role model."

"Just because I'm the Overseer's daughter doesn't mean I can't have fun or maybe even break a rule." She scoffed. Hearing that almost became regular for Yuri seeing as how she was often confronted about her blood relations with the Overseer.

"Good, cause I hope you're ready for this." The ember bottle with the brown liquid dangled in front of her face as Yuri held it out for her.

"Oh my God?! How did you get that?" She interrogated him on the spot.

"A good magician never reveals his tricks." Yuri winked. Actually, it's just stealing of an ID, which he needs to return by the end of the night.

Amata opened up a Fancy Cake of her own, but began reading the label. She's always been so sensitive about her weight. By the time she was done reading it for calories, Yuri was on his third. "Look dude. You're not fat." He informed her with a full mouth.

"I know…" She sighed, finally taking a bite.

"Anyway, since we got the day off…" Yuri brought the whiskey out of its concealment.  
"We aren't even close to 21!" She exclaims in protest.

"Shh, you'll get us in trouble if you yell like that." He hushed, then opened the bottle. "Do you want to celebrate or what?" Yuri had already made up his mind, whether she drink with him or not, he wasn't gonna wait around to drink. The rest of his damn life was to be doing exactly what he got on the GOAT today, even though the job he got was the one he wanted, it didn't change the fact he had literally no other option from now on! So if Yuri, the angry teenager that he is, wants a drink, he'll have a damn drink.

-


End file.
